Financial Highlights
Revenue ($'000)
Net Profit Attributable To Owners Of The Company ($’000)
*Less than (0.1) cents
Review Of The Group's Performance
Revenue
Our Group’s revenue increased by 6.5%, or $11.6 million, from $178.8 million for the financial year ended 30 September 2023 (“FY2023”) to $190.4 million for FY2024. The increase was mainly due to higher revenue from our Singapore operations.
The recovery in business, social events, and tourism led to a 12.6% increase in revenue from our Singapore operations. Revenue from our Singapore operations increased by $18.7 million, from $148.4 million in FY2023 to $167.1 million in FY2024.
The PRC market remains weak, with consumer spending and dining activities remaining soft. Revenue from our PRC operations decreased by 27.6%, or $7.2 million, from $26.1 million in FY2023 to $18.9 million in FY2024.
Cost of sales
Cost of sales increased by 6.0%, or $3.7 million, from $61.7 million in FY2023 to $65.4 million in FY2024. These increases were in line with the increase in revenue.
Gross profit
Gross profit grew by 6.8%, or $7.9 million, from $117.0 million in FY2023 to $125.0 million in FY2024. The overall gross profit margin increased from 65.5% in FY2023 to 65.7% in FY2024.
Other income
Other income decreased by 16.8%, or $0.8 million, from $5.0 million in FY2023 to $4.2 million in FY2024 due to reduced government support schemes.
Employee benefits expenses
Employee benefits expenses increased by 10.4%, or $5.8 million, from $56.4 million in FY2023 to $62.2 million in FY2024. These increases were primarily due to the increase in manpower headcount required to support our business operations, as well as corresponding salary adjustments and bonuses.
Operating lease expenses
Operating lease expenses also increased by 4.6%, or $0.2 million, from $4.5 million in FY2023 to $4.7 million in FY2024. This increase was attributable to higher variable rent driven by higher revenue from our Singapore outlets and an increase in the variable rent percentage as a result of new leases.
Depreciation and amortisation
Depreciation expenses for property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) increased by 6.9%, or $0.4 million, from $5.6 million in FY2023 to $6.0 million in FY2024, mainly due to the opening of a JUMBO Seafood outlet in the PRC.
Depreciation expenses for right-of-use assets (“ROU”) decreased by 2.1%, or $0.3 million, from $12.1 million in FY2023 to $11.8 million in FY2024. This decline was primarily due to the closure of one Kok Kee Wonton Noodles outlet, the closure of a JUMBO Seafood outlet in Xi’an and a reduction in office space in one of our PRC offices.
Impairment losses
The Group recognised impairment losses of $0.5 million for PP&E, $1.3 million for ROU and $0.8 million for goodwill in FY2024. These impairments were mainly due to underperforming outlets overseas.
Other operating expenses
Other operating expenses, which included cleaning services, repairs and maintenance, credit card and delivery service commissions, general supplies and marketing expenses, increased by 4.1%, or $0.7 million, from $18.1 million in FY2023 to $18.8 million in FY2024. The increase was in line with the general increase in business activities.
Income tax expense
The income tax expense increased by 4.6%, or $0.2 million, from $4.2 million in FY2023 to $4.4 million in FY2024, mainly due to increase in profits from our Singapore operations.
Profit attributable to owners of the Company
Profit attributable to the owners of the Company decreased by 6.5%, or $0.9 million, from $14.6 million in FY2023 to $13.7 million in FY2024.
REVIEW OF THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE GROUP
Current assets
The Group’s current assets decreased by $5.0 million to $67.4 million as at 30 September 2024, largely due to:
- a decrease in investment held at amortised cost of $17.1 million;
- a decrease in trade and other receivables of $0.9 million;
- a decrease in inventories of $0.4 million; and partially offset by
- a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of $12.7 million mainly due to proceeds from the disposals of other investments.
Non-current assets
The Group’s non-current assets decreased by $4.9 million to $54.4 million as at 30 September 2024, largely due to:
- a decrease in other investments of $2.2 million due to the disposal of unquoted equity shares;
- a decrease in goodwill of $0.8 million, mainly due to impairment loss on our Taiwan operations; and
- a decrease in ROU of $3.9 million, mainly due to impairment loss of $1.3 million on PRC operations and amortisation of $11.8 million, offset by new leases of $6.6 million, lease modifications and early termination/end of leases of $2.6 million; partially offset by
- an increase in PP&E of $1.4 million due to acquisition of PP&E $8.1 million, offset with depreciation of $6.0 million, impairment loss of $0.5 million and loss on disposal of $0.2 million; and
- an increase in investment in associates of $0.6 million due to the incorporation of an associated company, JBHG F&B Services (Wuhan) Co Ltd.
Current liabilities
The Group’s current liabilities increased by $6.8 million to $51.7 million as at 30 September 2024 mainly due to:
- an increase in trade and other payables of $3.5 million mainly due to the increase in accrued employee benefits expense of $2.7 million;
- an increase in lease liabilities of $0.9 million mainly due to additional leases entered during FY2024; and
- an increase in income tax payable of $2.4 million mainly due to profits from our Singapore operations.
Non-current liabilities
The Group’s non-current liabilities decreased by $8.3 million to $18.4 million as at 30 September 2024. This reduction stemmed from:
- a $4.4 million repayment of bank borrowings; and
- a decrease in lease liability of $3.9 million mainly due to the closure of a JUMBO Seafood outlet in Xi’an, a reduction in office space and rental expenses for an outlet in the PRC partly offset by the opening of three new outlets.
REVIEW OF THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT OF THE GROUP
The Group generated net cash from operating activities before movements in working capital of $37.5 million as at 30 September 2024. Net cash generated from operations amounted to $37.4 million due to a decrease in trade and other receivables of $0.9 million, an increase in inventories of $0.4 million and an increase in trade and other payables of $3.6 million. Including the $0.3 million interest income received, $1.5 million interest paid and $2.1 million income tax paid, net cash generated from operating activities was $37.4 million as at 30 September 2024.
Net cash generated from investing activities amounted to $11.5 million mainly due to:
- proceeds from disposal of investments of $19.9 million, of which $18.2 million was for the disposal of short-term investments and unquoted equity shares of $1.7 million;
- repayment of loans by an associate of $1.7 million; partially offset by
- acquisition of PP&E of $8.1 million, of which $4.0 million was for the acquisition of a property used for our central kitchen and the rest are mainly for new outlets in Singapore and the PRC; and
- incorporation of an associate of $1.3 million.
Net cash used in financing activities amounted to $36.1 million was mainly from the off-market equal access share buyback and market purchases of treasury shares of $10.0 million, the repayment of lease obligations of $12.1 million, repayment of bank borrowings of $4.4 million and dividends paid to owners of the Company of $9.4 million.
As a result, cash and cash equivalents increased by $12.8 million during the financial year to $46.4 million as at 30 September 2024.